Winners of the MIKTA Education in Emergencies Challenge

  • Media release

Today I announce the winners of the MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, Australia) Education in Emergencies Challenge which called for new ideas to improve access to education for children in emergency situations, particularly girls.

Protracted conflict and violence, as well as natural disasters including drought and floods, have caused a record number of people to flee their homes and have disrupted the education of more than 75 million children across 35 countries. In these environments, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys.

Australia has led this open, global innovation challenge on behalf of the five MIKTA countries. We received 382 entries, with 72 shortlisted and considered by an international expert panel. Seven winners have been selected to share in the $2 million challenge fund.

Successful proposals include:

  • a play-based learning kit for children with disabilities in the Pacific;
  • a refugee-led program helping Syrian youths build a sense of safety and self-empowerment through storytelling, self-awareness, and entrepreneurship;
  • training for education leaders in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to help them continue to provide education in emergency situations; and
  • a phone app for humanitarian workers to log educational data, identify barriers to education and communicate their findings to other aid workers.

More information about the MIKTA Education in Emergencies Challenge and challenge winners is available here.

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